History

The
history of Djibouti is recorded in poetry and in
songs of its nomadic people and goes back
thousands of years to a time when Djiboutians
traded hides and skins for the perfumes and
spices of ancient Egypt, India, and China.
Through close contacts with the Arabian
peninsula for more than 1,000 years, the Somali
and Afar ethnic groups in this region became
among the first on the African continent to
adopt Islam. French interest developed in the
nineteenth century when the area was ruled by
the sultan of Raheita, Tadjoura and Gobaad.
The French bought the anchorage of Obock in 1862
and expanded it eventually to a colony called
French Somaliland with essentially the
current boundaries. In 1967 the area became the
French Territory of the Afars and the Issas.

The
Republic of Djibouti gained its independence
from France on
June 27, 1977. Djibouti is a
Somali, Afar and Islamic country which regularly
takes part in Islamic affairs as well as Arab
meetings.

Politics

Djibouti
is a semi-presidential republic, with executive
power in the central government, and legislative
power in both the government and parliament. The
parliamentary party system is dominated by the
People's Rally for Progress and the President
who currently is Ismail Omar Guelleh. The
country's current constitution was approved in
September 1992. Djibouti is a one party dominant
state with the People's Rally for Progress in
power. Other parties are allowed, but the main
opposition, Union for a Presidential Majority,
boycotted the 2005 and 2008 elections leaving
all of the legislative seats to the PRP.

Geography

Djibouti
lies in Northeast Africa on the Gulf of Aden at
the southern entrance to the Red Sea. It has
314 km (195 mi) of coastline and shares a 113 km
(70 mi) border with Eritrea, 337 km (209 mi)
with Ethiopia and 58 km (36 mi) with Somalia
(total 506 km/314 mi). The country is mainly a
stony desert, with scattered plateaus and
highlands. It is 8,900 square miles.

Regions and Districts

Djibouti is sectioned into
5 regions and one city. It is further subdivided
into 11 districts.

The regions and city are:

Ali Sabieh Region (Region d'Ali Sabieh)

Arta Region (Region d'Arta)

Dikhil Region (Region de Dikhil)

Djibouti (city) (Ville de Djibouti)

Obock Region (Region d'Obock)

Tadjourah Region (Region de Tadjourah)

Economy

The economy of Djibouti is based on service
activities connected with the country's
strategic location and status as a free trade
zone in northeast Africa. Two-thirds of the
inhabitants live in the capital city, the
remainder being mostly nomadic herders. Scant
rainfall limits crop production to fruits and
vegetables, and most food must be imported.

Djibouti provides services as both a transit
port for the region and an international
transshipment and refueling center. It has few
natural resources and little industry. The
nation is, therefore, heavily dependent on
foreign assistance to help support its balance
of payments and to finance development projects.
Daniel R. Sutton, an American salt miner, is
also overseeing some $70 million operation to
industrialize the collection of Djibouti’s
plentiful salt in the Region Lake Asal. There
are gold miners from India, geothermal experts
from Iceland, Turkish hotel managers, Saudi oil
engineers, French bankers and American military
contractors

Religion

Djibouti's
population is predominantly Muslim. Islam is
observed by 94% of Djibouti's population (about
444,440), while the remaining six percent,
primarily consisting of foreign nationals,
follow various Christian traditions.

Just like Islam in other countries, every
town and village in Djibouti has a mosque where
people go to worship. Tombs of their former
religious leaders and those considered holy are
known as sacred spaces. The most famous sacred
space for Islam in Djibouti is the tomb of
Sheikh Abu Yazid, which is found in the Goda
Mountains

In addition to the Islamic calendar, Muslims
in Djibouti also recognize New Year's Day (January
1) and Labor Day (May
1) as holidays

Culture

Djiboutian
attire reflects the region's hot and arid
climate. When not dressed in Westernized
clothing such as jeans and t-shirts, men
typically wear the macawiis, which is a
sarong-like garment worn around the waist.

Among
nomads, many wear a loosely wrapped white cotton
robe called a tobe that goes down to
about the knee, with the end thrown over the
shoulder (much like a Roman toga). Women
typically wear the dirac, which is a
long, light, diaphanous voile dress made of
cotton or polyester that is worn over a full
length half-slip and a brassiere. Married women
tend to sport head-scarves referred to as
shash, and also often cover their upper body
with a shawl known as garbasaar.
Unmarried or young women, however, do not always
cover their heads.

Traditional Arabian garb such as the male
jellabiya (jellabiyaad in Somali) and the
female niqab is also commonly worn. For some
occasions such as festivals, women may adorn
themselves with specialized jewelry and
head-dresses similar to those worn by the Berber
tribes of the maghreb.